Every now and then, and maybe even more often that that, it appears that Acorn systems are using dual voltage (24vdc and 5vdc) to provide logic and power to various brands of drives. My "Acorn Project" is no different. The Acorn control board is native 24vdc and even tho the Leadshine drives I have selected can use 5-24vdc for control signals, the alarms are 5vdc max.

That means that no matter what voltage I use for the signals, my alarms will be required to use 5vdc, which will not work with the Acorn. There are a number of opto isolation devices, chips and circuits that could be used, but since I had some inexpensive relays on hand I decided to use them and this video will show those who may need to do something similar, how to do it.

Hi Gary,
Enjoyed the video...thanks for doing that. I’m not sure yet but perhaps I may need to do this at some point. Might you be able to post the specifics on what relay boards to use here for reference?

Scot..
I would rather not post an eBay link as they often last only a few days or weeks. When I buy these I buy a bunch, and accept overseas shipping times as there is no emergency. So I don't know if the one I used is 2 months or 2 years in my bin. If I have an immediate need I will order from Factorymation: http://www.factorymation.com/General_Pu ... _Series_SB

The ones that Marty posted in his video will work fine, assuming you match your requirements.

For the generic cheapos: do what I do: Search eBay for: "5v relay module low trigger"

Of course you will have to enter the appropriate voltage and high or low for your case. Note: there are now a number of vendors (some in the US) showing these (2,4,8) relay modules that are selectable for high or low trigger voltage. I have just ordered a half dozen of them.